Category Archives: Audiofiles

A creatively curated three day adventure into a playground of house, bass and underground music equipped with immersive, thought provoking art – Lightning in a Bottle has had a special place in my heart for almost as long as I can remember. When I went to school in Santa Barbara, I heard fantastical fables of a land so close, yet worlds away. For my first few years in Los Angeles, I chased the dragon of a dream, coming in a day late and a wonderful weekend short. When Lightning hit Temecula’s Lake Skinner Recreational Area I finally dove in and experienced firsthand what was so highly revered about the event. Breathing in feelings like fresh air, I floated through the festival on Cloud 9 – forging bonds and breaking barriers, I reveled in my newfangled oneness with the world as I fell in love, over and over again on the grassy nooks and crannies of the grounds. Watching as beautiful souls ordained in otherworldly outfits lost themselves to dance, I fell back in love with the moment. Joining in, I could feel a shift in the senses, an emotional evolution mirrored with a social revolution, inspiring me to fall back in love with myself. As the festival evolved, I grew in tandem – learning to find my place within this novel conscious community as Lightning in a Bottle manifested from a boutique music festival to a staple of the West Coast’s festival scene. Even with a migration to Bradley’s San Antonio Recreation Area, the magic was never lost – it was only magnified as serendipity met synchronicity. Masquerading under moonlight, long lost and new found friends became family as we were initiated with glitter blessings and hugs, laughter and jubilation.

Since its inception, Lightning in a Bottle has been an artistic catalyst where personal growth and spiritual renewal unfold infinitely into themselves. Senses stream towards overload as colors dance in time with elaborate harmonies emanating from every corner of the fields. The weekend celebrates much more than musical talent and artistic prowess; it’s the reunion and synergy of souls energized by the sunshine and their dancing feet; it’s the church where we revere our minuscule yet infinite place on this rock that’s spinning through space while we’re born again through the bass; it’s the home away from home where we feel so very safe, and so very loved. Over the last three years, for one spectacularly extra-special weekend – I felt the pull, heard the call and knew where I belonged so it should be no surprise that I found myself back there this past Memorial Day Weekend, for another journey down the rabbit hole.

But unlike previous years, it didn’t feel like I was supposed to be there – my energy wasn’t focused on a festival, it was focused on my family; my mind wasn’t lingering on lineups or salivating over set times. For the last decade, I’ve found sanctity and solace in festivals and on the dancefloor – my sweat, my hips, my feet, my heart and soul, and sometimes even tears were taken by the beat, and eventually I had to wonder: with all that we give to these events, our emotions, our headspace, our physical body, our money, our sobriety – what exactly are we getting in return? In a 31 going on 13 moment, I called the only person who could make heads or tails of a spinning situation – my dad; and I caught myself…because who in their right mind would deprive themselves of beautiful experiences, wonderful vibes, fantastic people, ethereal music and an otherworldly weekend? Most certainly not I – so last minute packing became a thing once again while I mused about the upcoming adventure ahead.

Since leaving Temecula, Lightning has been on the Central California Coast in Bradley and now that the event has found a more permanent home, it’s grown roots – both with the outlying community over it’s Permaculture Awareness Day with The Polish Ambassador, as well as implementing permanent infrastructure within the park. Between the water stations and the bridges between areas, seasoned festies were overheard in galvanized conversation about what the very first year at the campgrounds was really like. For the first time, the grounds opened on Wednesday for select ticketholders and offered an extra day to set up, get comfortable and explore many of the non-musically inclined opportunities that the festival has to offer participants. Yes, the world that the Do LaB has created there has massive amounts of music for those that want it – but for others, the festival also has beautiful spaces between the notes and serene silence between the music; the moments and love experienced outside of the stages were tantamount to the lucid dreams and delectable drops created on the dancefloor. There’s something to be said for the experience when the music is turned off, and the community vibes are turned all the way on – each and every one of us was operating at the highest possible frequency, making connections, forging bonds and cataloging moments that last a lifetime.

Rousing ourselves for an early rise on Friday morning, we left right on time – which for us is exactly an hour after we promised we’d have the car packed and be on the road. Perfect. After meeting up with some friends along the way to trade stories and party favors, Danny and I were off, off and away – celebrating our fourth Lightning together and our three year anniversary of saying ‘I Love You’. After a quick entrance, which I can only assume is one of the few benefits of arriving almost a day after most participants, we were onto the next challenge – finding a camping spot. With how much fun we had as just the two of us without a squad at Shambhala, we were excited to set up shop and create ‘Camp New Friends.‘ Claiming a site near the corner of Monkey Business and Croatia, we felt like it was left there just for us; as we began to set up our shade structure and tent – Danny took one look around and exclaimed to our neighbors, “Hey, you – yeah, we’re gonna become really good friends this weekend.” And let me tell you, I love it when he’s right. Cody and Dane from the camp behind us had our backs with the tent, and while we were setting up our shade structure – it felt like parallel worlds collided: slowly and sweetly, a couple waltzed up into our peripheral view. Under his breath, Danny started stammering ‘That guy looks like Mickey….I can’t wait to tell Mickey that I met his doppelganger….’ until….we realized that the doppelganger was Mickey! A well kept secret and wonderful trickery only became more meaningful when we realized how organically we had all just found each other.

As Danny gathered his camera gear to head out to a quick shoot for the LIB Promo Squad, my cell phone vibrated with a silent intensity. My step mom had been back on the East Coast for the last week helping with a family emergency, and I’d gotten to the point that seeing her on the caller ID was equally warming and disheartening. A short breath and two words into the conversation, and I already knew the direction things were headed. With a late stage cancer diagnosis, we knew my aunt’s prognosis was bleak – none the less we’d beenhopeful; after all – she’d been stable, she’d been laughing, she’d been being; but now we knew, that whether it was an hour, day, or a week – that was unequivocally all she had. Forgetting where I was for a second, I sank into my skin and the feelings I had before we left, quietly begging me to stay, latched back into me. How would you live your life if you knew your own expiration date? You would push, dare and defy your ego to grow instead of denying yourself of the will to live.

Settling into our surroundings and cracking a cold beer as the sun descended from the sky, we were finally ready to head into the grounds. After wandering through Camp Altered States and catching up with friends over Mija’s basslines, we were off to catch Big Gigantic on the Lightning Stage then slowly sauntered our way around towards the Woogie – I thought. The Favela Bar, which was once a smaller side stage had blossomed into a full on party brigade, fully equipped with all of the bass and all the vibes. The music in there was so good that I could have easily forgotten about the Woogie itself. Taking a break from the massive crowds, we found ourselves on a seemingly spiritual pathway to the Do Art’s artistic arena.

After spending a solemn moment reflecting on what turned out to be my favorite piece of art at the festival -the powerful and poignant depth of this cascading collection of twisted wood and tangled emotions, we stumbled right into the delicate and deliberate strokes of Negne Mwuara‘s mural from this last Coachella. One of the pinnacles of the event for me has been the live art on the grounds, in between the trees and near the stages but this year it felt more scarce and hard to come by. Taking a lengthy lap between the easels, we literally walked right into our camp neighbors as we were exiting towards the Woogie’s booming techno vibes.

Delectable cucumber jalapeno margarita in hand, we wound our way around the Woogie’s dancefloor – trying to come to a conclusion on how we actually felt about the new stage design. The treehouse DJ booth and whimsical color creations that oscillated like sound waves towards the sky, two facets of the festival that I thought were an iconic staple, were missing and replaced by industrial, neon piping which made me feel more like I was at a warehouse party in a technicolor boiler room than prancing in a magical forest among the faeries. In the mood for the less traveled path, we headed around the back of the stage, down the abyss into the Grand Artique, cartwheeling into the emotive, instrumentation of LAPA. Truth be told, for the first few minutes we weren’t sure who we were seeing – but we knew it made us feel a lot better after collectively missing Emancipator Ensemble; and then after a few minutes, we realized it kind of was Emancipator – it was Ilya Goldberg, Emancipator’s violinist, giving the most intimate of performances in a magical location. Heading back across the expansive grounds to our tent, pockets of after parties popped into existence – but none with the eclectic talent, lasting power or super awesome disco ball of Camp Altered States.

The next morning, thousands of house heads and festival lovers flocked to The Woogie for a beautiful tribute to the musical legend of Pumpkin. The hearts in our community have weighed heavy since his passing, and for really the first time since – the entire LIB community was together to celebrate the life he led, and the life he had inspired within all of us. Per usual, the heat beat its way into every daytime activity, making it necessary to have a water bottle in hand, a bandanna around your neck and a mister or fan in the friend group. Taking our leisurely time, we meandered across the grounds to the food court near the Pagoda Bar to level up on some food. Unlike previous years of LIB, the vendors this week had more to offer than just vegan and vegetarian offerings and we were excited taking full advantage of the situation and then head back to the sanctity of the campsite. Two days into LIB, and we’d already overused our joke about “Camping in a Bottle 2016” – there were literally some moments that it just seemed too hot to do stuff; blame it on our age, blame it on our psyches or willingness, but mostly blame it on the heat – all we could seem to do was sit around camp and share stories in the shade, which is an honest highlight of my weekend.

Saturday night we were on a mission, and found a perfect place to plant ourselves for the Lucent Dossier Experience. Transfixed in the moment, the crowd almost ceased to dance, move or breathe until the tantalizing performance came to an emotive close – only to erupt in jubilant cheer. As we sat on the ground, patently waiting for the Jamie XX to take the stage we found ourselves involved with what I still consider one of the most impressive glow stick ropes of all time.

It started small, with our neighbors sitting in front of us gleefully funneling the pieces down a supply chain of silliness and we couldn’t help but join in once the chain reached us. Once the people around us realized what was happening, it felt like all hands on deck as the glowing snake wrapped itself from the lighting booth and up to the front row – and back again before the start of the set. I wasn’t familiar with Jamie XX before his set but I’ve easily been converted into a believer after watching him effortlessly move between three different equipment set ups and what sounded like all of genres: disco, house, funk, industrial, and some groovy warehouse tracks with heavy bass that were unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. We felt the pull of the mindwarping, brain melting bass coming from Minnesota and G Jones B2B set at the Thunder Stage but after a few tracks, found ourselves back at the Lightning for the genius that is Jamie XX to finish our night.

Both a festival and a nature adventure, Lightning in a Bottle was rich with reasons to ditch the cell phone and live in the moment, harmonize on your serendipity when you find long lost squad members and create new bonds when you can’t. And for the most part, I’d left my phone on airplane mode all weekend less talking to my parents when we set up shop on Friday, but Sunday I had a gut feeling that never left, and a last text to reaffirm my unfortunate suspicions – it was Sandy’s final night, and full of light and love, her life’s candle was snuffed out as her soul dissolved back into the collective unconscious.

With little sleep in our veins, the whole camp was up and at’em early on Sunday morning, and with good cause – with all of our powers combined, we pulled off some epic bacon bagel sandwiches and finally had a family meal in the shade as we geared up for our last hurrah. Gathering our bearings, we were excited for a day outing with just a little less heat. Making last minute wardrobe changes in the middle of a champagne campaign, I mused about the circumstances that brought us together and the friendships that we’d curated. And for the first time all weekend, all the camps that we’d bonded with were making it out to the dancefloor together; five camps that had fused into one – ten life trajectories that were tangled in all the right places for one a beautiful weekend.

Dancing our way over to the Russ Liquid Test, the beat controlled my body as I giggled and grooved to this modern day jazz experiment, a funky side project that was perfect for my Sunday Funday get down. We ebbed over to the ethereal temple built from cans and upcycled materials and took in the final sunset while Desert Dwellers effused a tantalizing, tribal set that sent waves of euphoria through my veins. Drinking in the moment, and a tasty margarita, our inner spirit animals came loose one last time, howling in delight as the sun made it’s last LIB descent, pulling a curtain of galaxies closely behind her.

After a quick rendez-vous at the camp site, we gathered our squad for one final hurrah as we tromped through the festival grounds. We drank from a giant spoon as we gleefully gallivanted over to cacophony of carins in the shadow of the Ferris Wheel. Heading to the Favela Bar, B.R.E.E.D.’s tantalizing brand hip shaking, booty popping, soul writhing bass music was calling us and made it was easy to forget that anyone else was playing, let alone Mr. Carmack and Moderat.

One of the only sets that caught my squads’ attention for it’s entire duration, B.R.E.E.D. had the entire side stage engulfed in the masterful, musical moment. A perfect segue to closing the festival out with pantyraid on the Thunder Stage.

Over the last decade, Lightning in a Bottle has evolved from a benevolent birthday celebration to a 20,000 person festival and growing. As long as the Do LaB has operated their stage at Coachella, there has been a technicolor wormhole that sieves rave babies and bros towards LIB. In turn, the festival as no choice but to grow at an exponential level – and with those growth spurts come growing pains. Now featuring a sold out crowd, almost every space feels cramped for the night time sets as stages filled with neon totems that in mass essentially block the stage. Within the five or six weeks between the two festivals, it feels near impossible to inform thousands of fist pumping, neon Sparkle Ponies on the ethos of LIB’s ‘Pack in – pack out’ and ‘Leave it better, leave it beautiful’ mentalities though they’re certainly hit over the head with reminders to buy their ticket and take the ride. Beach cleanups pair up nicely with events they’ve paired up with like Subtract On The Pier while block parties and BBQs with street cleanups, and I believe there are ways to implement their green mentalities year round and in their home communities of Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area. But a place to buy extra trash bags, or a location to collect recycling and donate funds to the community or back into the event are also viable options albeit outside of the original ethos of the event.

The magic and music of Lightning in a Bottle will always pull an esteemed crowd of audiophiles and art fanatics, merry makers and music lovers, festival families, LIB virgins and seasoned veterans – all coming together to celebrate this thing called life. Put together with love and passion by the team at the Do LaB, this year’s festival boasted an immaculate range of talent and a community thirsty for Lightning’s transformative power. If you couldn’t get enough of the Do LaB crew at LIB, try out their Summer sister festival – Woogie Weekend just a few days away! Soak in the sunshine while you bounce around to International House legends and locally loved Techno talent.

Once upon a time, in a not so far away land, children reveled in laughter while trying to navigate the world and exchanged dreams like candy on Halloween. Our internal and collective happiness was less a choice and more a way of life where trials and tribulations disappeared into the infinite abyss of “the real world.” Time ceased to exist, while each day was approached with a childlike sense of wonder and amazement in search of what we could create and how we could collaborate. Social media meant knocking on your friends door and asking if they could come to play, writing on a wall was passing notes in class and instead of finding the right filter or caption to capture the memory, we were fully present – we had no option not to be; we marinated in the moment and savored every second.

Months, years, sometimes even decades would come and go but those little hopes that manifested into full on daydreams stayed as much a part of us as our arms, legs, head and toes. You could cover those dreams up – shove them into a corner of your brain and refuse to recognize them…you could dismiss them, refer to them as a lofty venture from a lifetime ago or the flippant figments of your youth. But that would be missing the point of life. No matter how big or small – those dreams of our youth are the backbone of our ethos, they’re the heartbeat that drives us and the underlying reason we care so deeply about what we contribute to this world and how we leave our mark.

Call your dreams by whatever name you want – but call them; call a spade a spade and a dream a dream. Call your dreams loudly and proudly in the name of manifesting your own magic in this dance we call life. Call them out loud because to not acknowledge your dreams is to cut your life short while you’re still living it. In a million different ways with a thousand different faces, from the artists and headliners, stage managers and photographers, videographers and lighting designers, writers, press and even festival attendants – Coachella is full of the evolution of the children who refused to let go of their dreams.

Boasting a vibrant history, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is the perfect place for both musicians and music lovers to see and be scene. Now in it’s 17th year, the festival stands proudly as a kaleidoscope of internationally acclaimed auditory and artistic talent for the tried and true audiophiles to the average music maven, on down to anyone with a single iota of instrumental inclination and a thirst for auditory adventures. In beautiful juxtaposition of musical memories in the making at Coachella, the entirety of Indio fosters a deep cultural history that reaches back somewhere between an epoch and an eon.

For at least the last 5,000 years, the Agua Caliente band of Cahuilla Indians has carved their community into the rolling desert landscape surrounding Palm Springs. At first glance a barren area, the Agua Caliente capitalized on the mystical and sacred hot springs, known in their native tongue as ‘Se-Khi‘ – translating into ‘Hot Water’, the original name for ‘Palm Springs.’ Sprinkled throughout the desert, the clean water from the hot springs paved the way for a dynamic life in an otherwise desolate location and provided the Agua Caliente with a connection to the spiritual world that was infused into the land.

A self professed math and science nerd, I admittedly was terrible with history, but even I know what happened next: the birth of a nation and the decimation of a culture; an unfortunate domestic history that we’re too quick to dismiss, about a community either blatantly appropriated or completely ignored (personally, I’m not sure which is worse – but I digress – and will save that diatribe for another time.) After spending four days immersed in Indio, it’s still beautifully apparent that the ethos of the Agua Caliente culture and community live on deep inside the land, offering a passionate pulse and gentle pull towards greatness that resides in each step and every breath. Fast forward to our present moment and a parallel, blossoming energy thrives in that same desert – shared by our collective consciousness and reinvigorated by the flame of each new encounter.

Back in 2011, this kitten right here purchased her first ticket to a multi-day music festival, not fully understanding the implications of her chosen life path; last year, work became play, and I returned to the Empire Polo Fields under the guise of new PR job with The Confluence and this year, I was blessed with the opportunity to dive in from the media angle – making for an unforgettable weekend with some of my favorite people. My fourth appearance at Coachella, this year marked my first time at Weekend 2 and I’ll tell you what – I’ll take it: less packed and more room, fewer A-list celebrities and paparazzi style press – unless you’re aweirdos that’s into that kinda thing – and an overall feeling of relaxation; a stark dichotomy with the go-go-fucking-go nature of Weekend 1.

From world class snackables, discussion worthy fashion choices and the musical soundtrack of this very moment, Coachella has manifested into much more than a hub of artistic talent – Coachella is a time capsule of pop culture, drawing on our modern amusements while capturing our creative spirit. Not a festival for the faint of heart, or heat, each weekend of Coachella crowed with temperatures reaching well into 90s and above – which, for people like me, paved the way for super breathable fashion choices and a whole lot of hydration (the key to a long and successful weekend). For any foodies, or all around fat kids at heart, the culinary choices at the festival were tantamount to the musical lineup – with mouth watering pressed juices, scrumptious corn dogs and the obligatory Coachella watermelon.

The West Coast’s Music mecca, the festival really does offer something for everyone in your squad. Originally a five stage, one day festival – Coachella has evolved to house well over 200 different artists. Not that any of us needed additional proof that EDM has evolved from a counter culture hub to a pop culture phenomenon, but instead of strictly dominating the Sahara Tent – dance music was dispersed onto every single stage: from addition of the Yuma Stage, the ever refreshing Heineken Dome, the Silent Disco back in the campgrounds, the Dispacio – a newfangled disco den and dual lineups for the different weekends at the Do LaB stage.

Depending on how acutely or loosely you define your genres, or more accurately: how much of a douche you want to be about them, it’s arguable that anywhere from 35% to 40% of acts the lineup have their roots in dance music, especially when most of the new stages only play dance music (I’m looking at you, Yuma). Whether you’re a technophile that refuses to acknowledge there are other colors besides black and feelings besides ‘robot’, a push-button EDM enthusiast who’s only mission for the weekend is to rage face while the bass drops, a live music lover looking to be moved by emotive vocals or flat out want to go where the weird turn pro – there’s a place for you…unless you’re a trance head, but hey – can’t win them all.

The Yuma Tent had thankfully been slightly reimagined since last year. But, when I say ‘slightly reimagined’ I mean that it’s still a mindfuck of a dimly lit disco den that I perpetually wish was a roller rink (wink wink, nudge nudge), the beds in the back were a great touch – and probably a wonderful refuge during the dust storms or the hot afternoons, but I was not a fan of the disco disorientation (disco-orientation?) of the building. I only managed to make it to a few sets and admittedly left not long after walking in, every time.

Tucked away in a corner of the festival is my favorite portion, a festival within a festival at the Do LaB stage. For those in the know, the Do LaB hosts their own festivals – Lightning in a Bottle and Woogie Weekend – and it’s always beyond me having to choose between great artists. I love hanging out at the stage during Coachella because it’s almost Desert Hearts meets LiB vibe, one love that’s felt in the heart of the dance floor one stage so you never have competing underground talent, one love – and a whole lot of booty shaking, feel good bass music that fills your soul, one molecule at a time. I consider the stage my personal safety net; like Linus and his blanket – the Do LaB stage can’t be described any other way except ‘home‘. It’s a conscious community dripping with delicious drops of water and a menagerie of music fit for it’s own festival – which is about to transpire at the end of the month.

After first finding our festival bearings on Friday afternoon, it was off to the races – and by races, I mean the water misters and friendly faces at the Do LaB stage. One of the best things about being at Coachella, regardless of the stage, is that you’re going to stumble across talent that’s either brand new, or brand new to you – and you could very well be discovering your new favorite artists; that’s exactly what happened when Melvv and Ekali sandwiched an epic, live set from Autograf – both artists went from 0 to 100 in my radar, real quick. Not to dismiss Autograf by any means, as they were actually one of my personal highlights of the weekend – dance music with live instruments and stunning live vocals? Yes, please! We planned on heading out right after their set, but then Ekali took the decks….and decided to hang out for a few songs, and then dance at the back of the stage for another few more before we were actually as cold as we thought we were and went to change for the evening.

After accidentally stumbling into Jayceeoh’s set in the Heineken House instead of Doctor P, we bee-lined over to the Sahara Tent we could fuck around and order more money with G-Eazy. I only recently got into him as an artist after one of my girlfriends, who’s basically self professed in love with him, kept posting his tracks – and I’ll be the first to tell you: that’s a live show worth catching. Plus, it was refreshing getting a dose of Hip Hop on the Sahara Tent. Heading over to the Outdoor Theater for Jack Ü, I kept wishing that we were seeing Diplo x Skrillex throw down in the Sahara. Maybe I’d had enough dance music for the day, but I couldn’t get into all of their bleeps and bloops and left slightly unimpressed by two artists I thoroughly enjoy. Bouncing back to the Do LaB Stage, we got our sexy groove on as Sweater Beats wooed the crowd. I’ve seen him a handful of times before, and this was by far my favorite performance – plus, everyone loves bubbles. Hippie Sabotage shut down the Do LaB stage with a high octane performance, and a whole lot of swearing. Last but certainly not least, we culminated our Friday night with the captivating acrobatics and eccentric theatrics of the electro-cirque performance troupe, Lucent Dossier Experience headlining the Sahara Tent. A group I’ve watched grow over the time I’ve lived in Los Angeles, it was breathtaking to see them headline the Sahara Tent – and they gave one hell of a performance to boot.

All of Saturday morning, I had it planned out – get to the festival in time for Gary Clark Jr, get to the festival in time for GCJ…I’d even talked to my mom about it that morning. But even the best laid plans at festivals seem to go awry as we walked in right as he was getting into his last song. But to her token, her taste in The Arcs, HEALTH and GCJ got me a whole lot of street cred while I was waiting in line to get inside for Day 2 (thanks, Lola!). After dancing our way past the Merch booth and food stands, we wound up front and center for Sacha Robotti’s epic Dirtybird Birthday set on the Do LaB stage. Craving more live music, we took a turn back to the Coachella stage for Run the Jewels and I spent about 30 minutes trying to enjoy the set. They brought out Travis Barker and DJ Shadow, which was pretty awesome, but it just….didn’t do it for me. So, we wandered and meandered, in the search of nothing novel, just something…else. AlunaGeorge’s put on a moving show in the Sahara, and the Hotel Garuda pulled out all the stops to throw one hell of a party. If Ice Cube wasn’t performing after, we would’ve stuck around for Cut Snake – but why deny what you feel inside? For the record, worth it: Cube reunited NWA for the first time in 27 years, that’s almost my entire lifetime! As we were on our way out to catch some of Rufus dul Sol, an act that hands down everyone I ran into said I had to see, our friend Sheldon heard the unmistakable rasp of Kendrick Lamar’s voice and we literally all sprinted back to the main stage, screaming ‘ We gon’ be alright’ – because you know, we are gonna be alright. Finally, we made it to Rufus dul Sol, and I’ll hand it to all those people – that was some phenomenal live music; I definitely cried some sappy love tears during Inner Bloom, frantically texting my fiance so I could steal a moment and a kiss. We missed Zedd’s performance, but he waved to us in the Rose Garden the next day – so, that was cool. Instead, we shook our tail feathers to the bone tingling sounds of the two special guests at the Do LaB for the evening – Claptone and MK!

If the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy warns you to always have a towel, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Festival will warn you to always have your bandanna handy – you never know when a rogue dust storm will hit. Which it did, several times. As I mini-tribaled my way by Rancid’s set on Sunday, the wind would pick up every so often and by the time I reached the press tent, I overheard what I can only assume was on-site production staff or Goldenvoice softly cackled about potential 70 MPH winds that could send tents flying and shut down the festival.

But no one seemed to know, notice or care – because the Sunday Funday game was strong, and the show most definitely went on. I finally made it through a full set in the sweaty Sahara tent for Tokimonsta – and was it ever worth it. According to MIC, this year Coachella has booked 44 female lead or co-lead bands, accounting for nearly a quarter of the lineup, a festival first – and stark improvement from 16% of the bill last year, and the historically dismal disparities in gender. However that’s on the main lineup, and doesn’t account for the lack of female artists on Dance Music stages like in the Heinekin Dome, the Do LaB stage or even the Sahara Tent – where Tokimonsta was one of the few female performers alongside Nina Las Vegas, Dena Amy, AlunaGeorge and the Lucent Dossier Experience. FYI, Festivals – this girl thinks it’s dope to see a dope chick do dope things.

After a jaunt by the food kiosks for just one more corndog, we were on our way back home to finish out the night with the Do LaB. Just As KRCW’s Jason Bently finished sweetly spinning the crowd into harmonic delirium, the Stanton Warriors and Kraddy brought the bass as they left their souls on the stage that night. Each artist brought the funky fresh dance moves, Prince tributes, and overall Sunday vibes to an all around high. I hadn’t seen Stanton Warriors since they played with Krafty Kuts back in 2009, and hearing their delicious breakbeats at peak volume was music to my ears. A former, and co-founding member, of The Glitch Mob – Kraddy threw one hell of a party, fully equipped with fan and fire dancers.There was only one way to top that closing lineup, and that was with an epic Surprise set from Diplo, Jillionare and Walshy Fire as Major Lazer took over the Do LaB for one hell of a closing party – and a completely different vibe than they had on the main stage. Sorry Calvin Harris, but this was my kinda party.

Even if it’s for just one second, we’re all itching to throw our real world cares away to revel and rejoice in what it means to be free from responsibility, work and familial obligation, cutting electronic tethers and ties and forging real connection – we’re left with a wanderlust mentality that only asks ‘Where to next, ol’ friend?’ There’s nothing quite like a high frequency, family reunion with upper echelon personalities – and that’s precisely what you’ll get, if you choose to seek it. When you’ve fully engrossed yourself within a festival like Coachella, when you come to a top tier event and are surrounded left and right by people that have passionately pursued their dreams to take the stage – you would literally have to go out of your way to not be bit by their bug of inspiration, to not take a drink of that success juice.

Growing in kind with the supply and demand of dance music, and the music industry in general, the landscape of Coachella is continually changing, from individual hours spent on the Polo Fields themselves to stage count and overall capacity. Over the last decade, AEG has evolved Coachella from a multi day festival to a multi weekend festival – and with the new advent of the Panorama Festival, a sister music and arts festival in New York this Summer, the Coachella brand has become bi-coastal and even more pop culture relevant, if that was possible; yes, it’s true – even your mom has heard of Coachella.

For all the good, there are definitely still some changes that could be made. With the influx of EDM artists to other stages, I was pleased to see the Sahara Tent do things a bit differently on Friday night; from the breath of fresh lyrical air bestowed by Bay Area native G Eazy, who brought out Lil Wayne, and duo Rae Sremmurd (Drummers Ear backwards, for those not in the know). And no one in their right mind could deny the collaborative genius of Ice Cube’s gangsta party on the main stage – bringing out MC Ren, DJ Yella and Dr. Dre for the first reunion of NWA in 27 years, The Game, and Kendrick Lamar just to put the cherry on top of that sundae. Add in A$AP Rocky and Run the Jewels with cameos from Travis Barker and DJ Shadow – and it’s a fantastic subset of Hip Hop culture – with subset being the operative term. For the vast amounts of overall music at the festival, Rap and Hip Hop account for an incredibly small sliver of the talent; if women could get equal representation on the lineup, that would be wonderful – though it would also imply equal representation in the music industry – which unfortunately doesn’t exist. Stagecoach is the following weekend I wouldn’t mind a few more Country Music acts on the bill as well – hey, I’m equal opportunity.

Then, there’s my 2 part PSA for the DJs: I wouldn’t go to a Drake concert and expect him to drop a verse like Kanye, or the Red Hot Chili Peppers – so why do we enjoy seeing DJs play someone else’s tracks? I want to hear your music and experience your creative prowess, not discover that you have a great face for radio. Also, no more cop sirens in songs – sincerely, me.

Ngene Mwaura @ Do LaB Stage

The live art at the Do LaB stage is such a wonderful idea, and I would love to see any of the other 7 stages follow suit; though, I think about all you could do in the Yuma is light painting and long exposures. As for the art installations – eh. The giant lamps were back, or maybe they never left – and did you see those big fucking chairs – or, BFCs -? Right, because you couldn’t miss them. Last year’s giant butterfly was astounding, and the corporate hippos were as hilarious as they were conversation starting…but all those BFCs did was actually piss me off. Just bring back the caterpillar next year and everyone will be happy, promise.

With as packed as the event already is, the impending threat of a 25% population increase makes my non-collegiate, claustrophobic bones shake – because some sets were difficult to navigate through, or even around. Does that mean that they’ll open up more of the festival grounds? Only time will tell.

Stay tuned for even more from Goldenvoice and AEG host to Desert Trip, or Geriatric Coachella, with Bob Dylan, The Who and The Rolling Stones back at the Empire Polo Club this Fall; tickets for Desert Trip go on sale Monday, 5/9 at 10 AM. Then, in 2017, AEG and Live Nation will finally threaten Los Angeles with a good time in 2017 with the impending Arroyo Seco Music and Arts Festival at Pasadena’s famed Rose Bowl.

For more on the latest and greatest on Coachella, including their impending sale of tickets for next year’s festival – head over to their website or socials:

A shining beacon of the Electronic Music Scene in Tucson, the Gem and Jam Festival returns for their 10 year anniversary to celebrate both the symbiosis of music and art within the conscious festival community as well as the love of precious minerals and gems featured at Arizona’s fabled Gem Show.

Thrown in collaboration with Infinite Music Productions, New Earth MUZiQ, Euphonic Conceptions & Challenger, the Gem and Jam Festival constantly evolves the perception of dance music with a livetronica take – almost every act you’ll find at the festival includes live elements within their performance. This year, headliners for the event include Beats Antique, The Polish Ambassador, Lettuce, Minnesota, Ott and so many more – plus a plethora of unreal live painters. Last year hosted the likes of Alex + Allyson Grey, The Welch Brothers, Benedigital, Ngene and Jef Logan; this years lot is slated to be just as magical. And let’s not forget, the magical, mystical and magnificent minerals and gems on dazzling display – best believe you’ll leave with at least a few of them!

For those that hit up the event last year, you’re in luck – four more hours of music have been added to each day!

For the past few years, Chicago trifecta Autograf has more than left their imprint on the dance music scene. Through a combination of thoughtful reworks that deconstruct the original song as well as solid original tracks, Autograf has graced the stage at Northern Nights, Electric Forest, Hangout Fest most notably Woogie Weekend where they absolutely stole the show on Sunday.

In the wake of their first Europe tour, they’re back with something a little more brooding than fans are used to as homage to one of the most influential European electronic acts: Faithless. Founded back in the original mecca of dance music, Faithless sprung onto the dance scene in 1995 and there was simply no looking back until Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo went their separate ways in search of solo success in 2011. Now, almost 5 years later – a new era is here: Faithless 2.0. Their sixth remix album, Faithless 2.0 is available for purchase on Amazon or iTunes, and can be streamed via Spotify.

A pulsing, haunting spin on a tried and true track- Autograf punched up the original melody while spiraling into a darker, and much appreciated, tone. If this past year is any indication of their artist talent, I’m excited to see what else these gentlemen have under their belt for 2016.

In the past year, the Desert Hearts team has taken the dance music world by storm. Between a record label that’s more interested in creating a melodic mood than making money, an iconic club event that catalyzed into this year’s “Summer of Love Tour” and appearances at major festivals across the West Coast from Lightning in a Bottle to Symbiosis, the Dirtybird Campout to Transmit Festival, there’s simply no stopping this rag-tag team of musical merrymakers. This November, they’ll be returning to their stomping grounds in Southern California for the Desert Hearts 3 Year Anniversary Festival from November 5th through the 9th. and everyone wants to get in on the fun.

Desert Hearts is truly one stage, one vibe and one sound – but beyond that, Desert Hearts is one dancing, breathing, living and loving organism that feels like home the second you enter. This November, come marinate in the music with over 100 hours of House, Techno and Love and revel in a weekend off the grid with other sonic souls and kindred spirits.

When life pulls me in a thousand directions, music helps to regain emotional and mental stability. From when I wake up til the last seconds that I’m falling asleep, it’s the medicine in the rhythm, the vitality in the pulsing beat and succulent harmony that get me through. When Sydney based Hayden James’ “Something About You” first came out I was entranced by the bubbling bass line whimsically woven through haunting lyircs. As the rhythm writhes and rolls, the vocals sink into my head in serendipitous motion. Always a fan of original works, I was interested in hearing the remix packages stemming from this gorgeous single – and so far, I have yet to be disappointed. First, Sandrio heated it up with a deep and groovy remix, then Ben Pearce debuted his expertly timed and almost staccato rework and finally Just Kiddin released their version, raising the BPM and the Summer Vibe.

Adding another amazing remix to the stack is none other than ODESZA, the Seattle based Electronic Music Duo that’s been constantly on the rise over the last few years and rightfully so. Their original singles are seductive and emotional, their remixes are innovative and their live sets are absolutely phenomenal. It’s the little things, like the sound of a record dropping onto a record player, the haunting vocal elements of an angelic voice to raise you up and a symphony of synths to ring in the uplifting feel. Hands down, this is one of my favorite remixes ODESZA has produced and I can’t wait to hear what they have in store for us for the rest of the year.

After setting the internet ablaze last year after leaving the talented dupstep triumvirate of Krewella, we’ve all been (im)patiently for Rain Man to come through with a solo career. The brains behind the bass and the passionate producer of the bunch, Rain Man more than made a name for himself behind the decks of Krewella and now he’s stepping out into his own spotlight. On March 29th, he’ll be kicking off a series of solo shows in Miami and now he’s rousing interest and ruffling feathers with his first single – ‘Visionary’, featuring Sirah of Skrillex and Alvin Risk fame.

Out today on Buygore Records, “Visionary” is the track we’ve wanted for the last year and simply haven’t gotten. Between the booming bass and seductive vocals, it’s easy to forget you’re not listening to a Krewella track; flip your script and remember who crafted those crushing beats and you’ll be singing a different tune. The track comes to life with the rumble of a Reggae infused Dubstep track, with delicately layered lyrics over crushing basslines – perfect for all hours at your favorite dance hall.

“The lyrics for visionary are super dark. Basically I’m talking about the decision every artist needs to make, where you either stay true to what you believe in or you bend your art to fit in a lane. I make my own lane,” – Sirah

Rain Man kicks off his solo tour in Miami at the Buygore Pool Party on 3/29, with stops in Chicago, New York’s Webster Hall and Avalon in Los Angeles on 4/17.